After a 224-yard performance in a big road win over the Ravens, the Detroit Lions are feeling themselves entering Week 4.
Even a Sunday date with the Cleveland Browns' No. 1 ranked defense can't bring them down. Just ask Lions offensive coordinator John Morton, who expressed respect for the Browns' top-ranked unit but also confidently warned onlookers that Cleveland hasn't yet faced an opponent as strong as Detroit.
"Well, I think this. I'm going back to us the last few weeks -- our front right now, we're moving guys," Morton said Thursday of the Lions' offensive line. "I don't think they've seen a run game like ours yet. We have patience, we stick with it. I think that's the biggest thing. Let's keep doing what we've been doing.
"We gotta do that so we can stay manageable. We have to stay manageable on third down and third down and 2-to-6. We've got to be in that area. First and second down's gonna be crucial."
The Lions established their identity quite well in Baltimore on Monday, sticking with the run on 15 of 21 second downs, including 10 second downs that required them to gain at least five yards in order to move the chains. Essentially, Detroit refused to back down even when the situation might have called for a pass and reaped the rewards in the form of chunk gains and a dominant ground attack that powered their offense and kept Ravens star Lamar Jackson off the field.
It's easy to understand why Morton is feeling confident. But for as strongly as he feels about his offensive line, Cleveland matches that with their defensive front, a group that harassed Packers quarterback Jordan Love and sacked him five times in the Browns' stunning 13-10 win over Green Bay in Week 3.
Just don't expect Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to match the pregame bluster.
"Does it really affect the game? Maybe it makes things nice for you guys or for people to say stuff or whatever. I don't play the game," Schwartz explained Thursday. "I'm just out there trying to put a good plan together, trying to put our guys in position and turn the game over to them.
"Anything that I think or anything that I would engage in, in my mind, is just distracting from what our job is. We'll keep it there. Players on the field will decide the game."
Cleveland's defense is full of players capable of making plays. Naturally, every scouting process begins with Myles Garrett, the All-Pro edge rusher and 2023 Defensive Player of the Year who has already tallied four sacks in three games and continues to perform at an elite level.
"Our guys, they're gonna be ready. We're gonna be ready for anything," Morton said. "I don't care who it is. The most important thing is us taking care of what we need to do, technique-wise, the details. When we do that, we play pretty good, as you saw last week. If we take care of ourself and stop 95 (Garrett), or at least control him… Can't let him wreck this game. Cannot."
Garrett has done quite a job of wrecking games so far this season. He's tied for second in sacks with four, ranks in or near the top eight in most notable advanced pass-rushing metrics (12 QB pressures, six quick pressures, the second-highest sack rate and the second-fastest average get-off) and has logged these numbers while also facing the eighth-highest double-team rate among edge rushers with at least 60 pass-rushing snaps through three weeks, per Next Gen Stats.
He's not the only key part of this Cleveland front, though. Last week, six Browns defenders registered at least two QB pressures and at least one quick pressure. Rookie first-rounder Mason Graham logged three pressures, split a sack with a teammate and did so while being double-teamed on 41.7 percent of pass-rushing snaps.
The combined efforts of this defensive front, the steady improvement of rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger and a secondary that continues to produce sticky coverage has created another monster under the direction of Schwartz, the same coordinator who oversaw the NFL's top defense in 2023.
"We've got a tough opponent this week. Schwartz, he does a great job," Morton said. "Respected him over the years. We've got a tough task at hand.
"When you've got a front like that, you can pretty much do anything you want. That's where they get after it, so it's going to be about protection in this game plan."
Cleveland has been here before and won't let one impressive prime-time performance intimidate them as they prepare to head to Detroit. The Lions, meanwhile, feel as if they're only just getting their mojo back and are looking to prove another point against a stellar defense.
The point? Former OC Ben Johnson wasn't the only driver of this offensive wagon -- and the Lions aren't interested in slowing down any time soon.
"We'll have to take away what they do best and every play is going to be a battle," Schwartz said. "They've got a lot of playmakers at different positions. Good quarterback, good offensive line. We'll have our work cut out for us."
